Montpelier is the former home of James Madison,

the fourth president of the United States,

the father of the Constitution,

and the architect of the Bill of Rights.

Montpelier is also a former slave labor camp.

James Madison held more than 100 African Americans

in bondage at Montpelier,

never freeing a single soul, not even upon his

death.

Historic preservationists have been busy at Montpelier telling the story of slavery and freedom.

They have reconstructed portions of the enslaved quarter, rebuilt the cabin of the freedman George Gilmore,

and recreated a Jim Crow era railroad station.

Meanwhile, archaeologists have conducted ongoing digs at the property that have uncovered

remarkable remnants of the material culture of the enslaved people who live there.

And two years ago, museum curators unveiled a

permanent exhibition about slavery at Madison's plantation and beyond called the mere

distinction of color. In 2018, I took 10 Ohio State students to Montpelier to explore the evolution of the color line from

the nation's founding through the present. And for four days, we absorbed all that Montpelier

had to offer. We even spent an evening in Charlottesville with a community activist who shared

her personal account of the tragic events of the summer before

when white nationalists descended on the city intent on terrorizing African Americans, Jews, and Muslims.

But before all that, we began our Montpelier experience with a tour of Madison's Mansion.

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